Free Will and Moral Responsibility Flashcards
What are the two main conditions of moral responsibility?
Free will, and understanding of the difference between right and wrong
Why is free will considered to be a condition of moral responsibility?
You can only be held responsible for acts where you could have chosen to do otherwise; the ability to choose between options is considered part of free will.
Why is understanding of the difference between right and wrong considered a condition of moral responsibility? When might people not meet this condition?
You cannot be held responsible if you didn’t understand the consequences, or the nature, of the act you were committing. People may not understand the difference between right and wrong due to having never known it (e.g. bad upbringing), temporarily forgetting it (e.g. drunk), or permanently losing it (e.g. brain damage).
What are the three main views about the extent of moral responsibility?
Libertarianism, Hard Determinism, and Compatibilism
What is Libertarianism?
The view that human beings have free will and are not determined
Give two examples of libertarians
St Augustine & Jean-Paul Sartre
Why does Augustine say we must have free will?
Because God created us free in order for us to make our own choices
What does Augustine say about the connection between free will and reward and punishment?
We have misused our free will since Adam and Eve, and as a result we all deserve to be punished in Hell. Heaven is not a reward that we deserve, but a sign of God’s grace that he is willing to forgive and redeem.
Why does Jean-Paul Sartre say we must have free will?
As an atheist existentialist he does not believe we were created by God with a particular purpose (en soi), and therefore exist for ourselves (pour-soi) and are radically free to live our lives as we please
What three-word phrase does Sartre use to capture the idea of radical freedom?
“Existence precedes essence”
What is “bad faith”?
The state of behaving as if your life is determined when in fact we are really free
How does Sartre connect free will to reward and punishment?
Sartre believes we should be fully accountable for our actions - however, since we are also free to choose our own moral values, he would not necessarily agree with punishment since there is no real standard to hold other people to
What is hard determinism?
The view that human beings are determined by forces beyond our control and do not have free will
What is theological determinism? Link to a scholar
Predestination; the view that we do not have free will as God’s will has already preordained everything that will happen to us, include who can know and worship God, who will be saved and who will be damned. Associated with John Calvin
What is psychological determinism? Link to a scholar
A theory of psychology which argues that behaviours are learned through reward and punishment, and we are therefore determined by our environment and can be conditioned to act in a certain way. Associated with Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner.
